Monday gets blamed for an awful lot.
Bad mood?
Monday.
Tired?
Monday.
Don’t want to get out of bed?
Definitely Monday.
Poor Monday never stood a chance. 😂
But I’ve been thinking about why Monday can feel like such a restart.
New diet Monday.
Back to exercise Monday.
No more junk food Monday.
Going to bed on time Monday.
We spend the weekend living one way, then Monday morning arrives and apparently we’re supposed to become responsible adults again.
I’ve done versions of that.
I don’t anymore.
My Weekends Aren’t Exactly Like My Weekdays
Nor should they be.
Peggy and I might go somewhere.
Eat differently.
Stay up later.
Skip something we’d normally do.
Sit around longer than usual.
That’s called having a life.
Health isn’t supposed to become another job where you’re afraid to take the weekend off.
But there are a few things that have become so much a part of our lives that they don’t really have weekdays anymore.
We move.
We walk.
We eat mostly food that makes us feel good.
We sleep.
We spend time together.
None of that requires Monday morning to come rescue us.
That’s What Consistency Eventually Becomes
When people hear that I’ve been moving regularly for nineteen years, I think it can sound like discipline.
It really isn’t anymore.
I don’t wake up every morning and make a courageous decision to move my body.
I just move.
It’s what I do.
Same with most of the food I eat.
Same with walking.
These things aren’t a program I’m following.
They’re my life.
And that’s considerably easier than repeatedly trying to get back on track.
You Don’t Have to Start Over
Maybe you ate too much this weekend.
Okay.
Maybe you barely moved.
Maybe you stayed up too late watching something stupid.
Welcome to being human.
You haven’t destroyed anything.
You don’t need punishment.
You don’t need a detox.
And you certainly don’t need a heroic Monday workout to pay for Saturday night.
Just do the next thing that makes sense.
Take a walk.
Eat something decent.
Stretch.
Get outside.
Go to bed when you’re tired tonight.
That’s it.
Monday Is Just Monday
There’s nothing magical about it.
Your body doesn’t know that it’s the beginning of a new week.
And it isn’t keeping score of what you did Saturday.
That’s one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about taking care of myself.
You can always make the next choice.
No guilt required.
No fresh start.
No declaration.
No waiting until Monday.
And if it happens to already be Monday?
Well, that’s convenient.
Go take a walk.